As we have journeyed through the Bible every book we have talked about has had one thing in common; they are all largely historical in nature. Every book from Genesis to Esther has focused on recounting events as they happened, when they happened, and how they happened. While there are some parts that aren't strictly history, the legal codes of Leviticus for example, they are surrounded by and depend on historical events.
This is what we like to read when it comes to Scripture. The only other genre we read as frequently is the letters, and that's because we understand how letters work. We like the straightforwardness of reading history and letters. It fits our mindset. We understand the rules of how letters and history work.
Unfortunately those rules don't apply to every book in the Bible. In fact the majority of the Old Testament doesn't fit under those rules. As we move past the historical books and into the wisdom literature, I thought it fitting to take some time and talk about what we are getting into.
Poetry
The next five books of the Bible are made up almost entirely of poetry. This is a radical departure from the previous books. This is also more than simply a mere change in style. The intent of the books of wisdom are different than the books of history. The wisdom literature isn't historical.
Now I want to clarify something; just because the wisdom literature isn't historical doesn't mean that they don't describe history. The prime example here is Job, which we will also talk about next week.
The book of Job is NOT historical. Does this mean that Job is not a real person who existed in history? Of course not. Job lived. He was a real person. What we have to realize though is that the book of Job isn't trying to give us a historical account of his life. The book of Job takes the events of Job's life in order to explore concepts about God.
None of the books of wisdom are historical. They are poetic. They seek to dig deeper into the nature of God. The historical books are theologically simple by comparison. The point is what God says and does. In the poetic books the authors attempt to dig deeper.
Human Response
The other key feature of the wisdom literature is that it isn't focused on God's action. Rather the wisdom books are focused on human responses to God. They are an attempt by humans to respond to and explore this relationship with God.
It is in the wisdom literature that we see the full range of emotions. We see the heights of joy and the depths of grief. We see the turmoil of anger and the peace of love. We see victory and we also see surrender. We see people in despair and people who are truly content.
It is from here, where we all live every day, that the authors of the wisdom literature respond to God. These five books, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs, are in many ways the most relatable books in the entire Bible. They aren't describing the wondrous history of God's people, or delivering oracles of judgment. These books are simply human beings, like us, trying to respond to the overwhelming love of God from all different points in life.
Conclusion
I am excited to jump into the wisdom literature. When we take a moment to understand how these books work it can be astonishing how much more we can glean from them. How incredible is it that God included in our Bibles not only stories of what he's done and his words, but also our responses to him? Praise God!
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